Free Switch Joy-Con Repair: Nintendo Owns Up To 'Joy-Con Drift' Amid Backlash

Nintendo stated on Tuesday to repair faulty Switch Joy-Con controllers for free. The announcement comes after mounting pressure from thousands of user complaints, including a class-action lawsuit filed against the Japanese consumer electronics company.

The communication comes courtesy of Vice Games senior reporter Patrick Klepek a day after the issue went live at Kotaku. The report claims that owners of the Switch are authorized to receive free repair granting that the affected controllers exhibit signs of "drifting."

Klepek added that Joy-Cons can still be fixed outside of the original warranty. If users already paid for the repairs, the senior reporter appended that representatives at Nintendo may be able to offer refunds granted that they show proof of the servicing.

"Drifting" Joy-Con controllers have gained international attention after various owners complained that Nintendo doesn't care about their ordeal. The issue has persisted for months, and some users have been affected since 2017.

The faulty defect sends movement data to the Switch console despite having no input on the controller. The system may also resist the direction of your initial course, resulting in a frustrating situation for thousands of owners.

A mechanical issue can potentially cause the defect; a simple recalibration of the joystick won't fix it for affected users. In 2018, a Reddit user posted that he sent "eight Joy-Con controllers to the Japanese company for repairs" after showing signs of drifting. The owner was subsequently charged for the repairs, despite the possibility of a factory defect.

Nintendo finished the announcement by saying that "they want their customers to have fun with Nintendo Switch." They are urging affected users to visit http://support.nintendo.com for assistance.

It isn't the first significant issue of the Joy-Con controllers. Some users have already been complaining of a "mushy" game d-pad for the Switch Pro Controller since the console's release in 2017. Another noted defect is the Joy-Con's poor wireless performance; owners were quick to find a solution using a single-wire soldering fix.

Recently Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith filed a class-action lawsuit against the Japanese consumer company. Ryan Davis, the suit's plaintiff, said that he has long suffered from drifting Joy-Cons since he bought his console in 2017. He bought a new pair, but it also exhibited signs of the defect 11 months after the purchase.